Scholar Spotlight 2020: Ralph

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Congratulations and Thank You to Ralph, CRLS Class of 2020 awardee of the Mary Frances Monti Scholarship!

“Next school year I plan to pursue a Bachelor of Science in software engineering — at George Washington University — with emphasis on application development and artificial intelligence. With this education, I will be able to enter a profession that will continue to shape our society as the years go by. After I have enough on-the-job training and knowledge about the marketing aspects of a company, I plan on developing my own mobile application. My focus is to use my acquired knowledge of artificial intelligence and application development to create an app that uses augmented reality to improve the lives of others.  I have a clear picture of where I will be in the next 10 years, and I know through higher education I will be better set up to get there.” 

Scholar Spotlight 2020: Sabira

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Congratulations and Thank You to Sabira, awardee of a CRLS Core Values Scholarship! Sabira exemplifies Opportunity, Diversity, Respect. She’s enrolled at Bates College, where she’ll be studying psychology and art. She’ll use one or both of her passions in a career to help young people overcome obstacles in their lives.

Sabira wrote to us, “I am incredibly grateful and honored to be a CRLS Core Values Scholarship recipient. Thank you for your belief in my abilities and recognition of my hard work. This scholarship has considerably lessened the financial burden in the pursuit of my higher education and will help ensure my success. I sincerely appreciate your support and cannot thank you enough.”

Scholar Spotlight 2020: Andy

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Congratulations and Thank You to Andy, our multitalented* Class of 2020 awardee of the “100 by 100” Cambridge Business Community STEAM Scholarship for the Arts!

*acting, singing, dancing, choreography, digital art, fashion and jewelry design, photography, and more

Andy wrote to us, “Thank you so much for the “100 by 100″ Cambridge Business Community STEAM Award for the Arts. I feel honored to be selected from the hundreds of students at CRLS and I cannot describe how grateful I am. This scholarship was essential to help finance my journey at Columbia College Chicago for graphic design and without your generous donation, it wouldn’t have been possible. I appreciate you taking time to read my essays and acknowledge all my work at CRLS. I cannot express how blessed I feel to have donors who appreciate my artistic work and wanna see me succeed in college and I will make sure I do exactly that.”

Scholar Spotlight 2020: Mattingly

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Congratulations and Thank You to Mattingly, an aspiring filmmaker and recent CRLS graduate to whom we’ve awarded a CRLS Core Values Scholarship for her exceptional representation of Opportunity, Diversity, Respect.

“I want to express a massive thank you for choosing me for the CRLS Core Values Scholarship. I am honored to be one of the four students chosen for this scholarship and I cannot thank you enough. You will help me fund my education at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and I am so incredibly thankful!”

Scholar Spotlight 2020: Jose

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Jose, nominated by his guidance counselor Stephanie Richards, is a CRLS Class of 2020 Charlene Holmes Memorial Awardee

Congratulations and Thank You to Jose, a CRLS Class of 2020 Charlene Holmes Memorial Awardee! Jose was nominated by his guidance counselor, Stephanie Richards, who summarized, “Compassionate and conscientious, Jose’s concern for the well-being of others transcends through all daily activities.”

We received a heartfelt thank you email from Jose — who will be starting at Union College in the fall — in which he wrote, “By awarding me with this scholarship not only have you lightened up some of my financial burdens but you have gone on to show me that treating others with care, respect, and generosity can go a long way no matter the setting or situation. I guarantee that I will continue to carry on the values that represent this award and that, hopefully, I spread this attitude and lifestyle to others.”

Charlene Holmes, a member of the CRLS Class of 2014, well-known and appreciated by peers and faculty alike, was killed by gunshot on a Cambridge street in June 2012. These awards are presented to graduating seniors nominated by CRLS faculty and staff members for exemplifying Charlene’s spirit of generosity and caring toward their fellow students, along with the pursuit of their own dreams of higher education and professional careers.  

CRLS Class of 2020 Honors Exceptional Faculty

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The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) Class of 2020 graduated remotely with an online ceremony on Thursday, June 11.  For the 14th consecutive year, Friends of CRLS sponsored the Faculty Distinction Awards, helping each graduating class honor four of the teachers and staff members who had the most meaningful influences on their high school years.  Awardees received their framed certificates, which recognized them for inspiring students, building relationships, exemplifying dedication and more, by mail earlier in the week.

Congratulations and Thank You to the 2020 Faculty Distinction Awardees:

Janira Arocho has been a biology teacher for 26 years, sixteen of which she spent teaching in Boston, at English High School, Boston International High School and the Winsor School.  She has taught at CRLS for ten years, where she currently teaches AP Biology and Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) Biology.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Wellesley College, where she double-majored in Biological Sciences and Spanish Literature, and also holds a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University. In her class, Ms. Arocho strives to create an atmosphere where students are challenged yet receive support, learn how to cultivate analytical skills and make connections between seemingly unrelated topics. She is energized by her students’ love of science and finds inspiration in her students, especially those who show incredible resilience in the face of what may seem like insurmountable obstacles. 

Dionne Campbell is a Cambridge native.  She graduated from Ripon College in Wisconsin, receiving her Bachelor​ ​of Arts Degree in History.  Mrs. Campbell completed a graduate degree at Tufts University, receiving a Master of Arts in Teaching.  Her teaching career began at the Longfellow Elementary School; and after one year, she accepted a position at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in the History Department.  Mrs. Campbell became a James Conant Fellowship recipient and earned her Ed.M. at Harvard Graduate School of Education. During her tenure, she has held positions as co-coach for the CRLS Basketball Cheerleading Team, co-advisor to the Junior class, advisor to the Senior class and advisor to the Black Student Union. Currently, she is the advisor to the K-Pop Club and volunteers at the Salvation Army. Mrs. Campbell has been married to Devon Campbell for 25 years, and they are parents to four children.

Christopher Montero has been teaching introductory and AP U.S. History courses at CRLS since 2017. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Vassar College in 2011 and a Master of Law in Criminal Justice and Human Rights from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2012. In 2019, he and other educators launched a pathway program for young people of color interested in a career in education through a new course and internship program called “Our Schools: Sites of Liberation or Oppression?” He is also a co-chair of the Latinx Educator Resource Group, the advisor to the student Latinx Club and a co-advisor to the #HerVote Club dedicated to expanding political participation among women.  Chris loves teaching in a diverse community with brilliant young people and learning about the great City of Cambridge through local history projects on housing and civic activism.  He wishes the Class of 2020 had been able to celebrate their accomplishments in grand style but has great faith that our world will be better for having them take another step forward in leading it through these historic times. 

Brendon Snyder decided that he was going to be an English teacher when he was 12 years old.  Following that path, he spent the bulk of the last 20 years teaching in different urban, suburban, and rural systems before finding his way to CRLS in the fall of 2016. Throughout his first four years at the high school, he has taught Sophomore English, Junior English, Psychology and Literature, Immersion Journalism and Examining the Works of Alfred Hitchcock. He fundamentally believes that teaching literature should facilitate the exchange of ideas, using the voices of different authors to push our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.  He hopes the study of literature will help his students find their own moral base as they learn about the nature of both society and the self.  He is very thankful to have had the pleasure to meet so many wonderful students throughout his time in the classroom.

Friends of CRLS is a 501c3 nonprofit that supports opportunities for students, graduates, and faculty of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.  Learn more about Friends of CRLS at focrls.org

Thank You to These Community Businesses

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Thank you again to all of the local businesses that provided
prizes for Friends of CRLS’s 2019 Spring Raffle.

We wish you all the best during these times and
look forward to continuing our partnerships

Artist & Craftsman Supply

Atlantis Sports Club

B Cummings Hair Salon

Bonny’s Garden Center

Boston Burger Company

Broadway Marketplace

Cambridge Common Restaurant

Cambridge Naturals

Cambridge Family YMCA

Club Passim

Courthouse Seafood

Curio Spice Co.

Dave’s Fresh Pasta

Flatbread Company

Formaggio Kitchen

Harvard Book Store

Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

Healthworks Cambridge

Henry Bear’s Park

Hyatt Regency Cambridge

Inman Square Hardware

Irving House at Harvard

The Mad Monkfish

Made by Me

Marathon Sports

McKinnon’s Meat Market

MEM Tea

Mike’s Food & Spirits

Nomad

Nüssli118°

Orleans Restaurant

Paper Source

Passage to India

Porter Square Books

The Porter Square Hotel & Colette Bistro

Somerville Theatre

Spindler Confections

Seven Stars

Veggie Galaxy

When Pigs Fly

Whole Heart Provisions

The Williams Agency / Boston JerkFest

The WRITE Coach

To learn more about Friends of CRLS’s College Scholarships, Faculty Innovation Grants, and other programs, as well as our Bash to be scheduled this fall, get in touch with us:

focrls.org

info@focrls.org

bashmanager@focrls.org

Scholar Spotlight: Anna

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Congratulations to Anna, an aspiring woman in science! Anna is now at MIT studying biochemistry with the goal of becoming a medical doctor focusing on research. Anna is one of our five Class of 2019 “100 by 100” Cambridge Business Community STEAM Scholarships awardees, excelling in and committed to science:

“I would like to become a researcher, particularly in the area of finding new cures for diseases. Another broader cause that I would like to help is increasing the diversity in scientific communities. In college I plan to volunteer to mentor students in middle school or high school in math and science. I know that I have been greatly influenced by the teachers and mentors I have had, particularly women in science. Their support has made me really interested in pursuing science and math as a career, and I want to pass some of the enthusiasm they gave to me on to other students, especially those who many not have had many opportunities to see the fun sides of math and science.”

Friends of CRLS‘s “100 by 100” Cambridge Business Community STEAM Scholarships are funded by generous, community-minded, forward-thinking business leaders around our city.  Each year, we award five $2,000 scholarships to graduating seniors who have each demonstrated commitment through their years at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, our city’s public high school, to one of the STEAM fields:  Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. If you run a business and would like to join, find out how to be a “100 by 100” sponsor here or contact us.  Our Business is Student Success.

Scholar Spotlight: Sagyan

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Congratulations to Sagyan, our Class of 2019 awardee of the CambridgeSeven STEAM Award as well as a CRLS Core Values Scholarship!  Sagyan is enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he’ll be majoring in computer science:

“My passion for computer science has stemmed from the ability to be creative and resilient.  I want to become a software developer where I can apply my skills to developing solutions to some of the world’s greatest problems.  I want to be able to create more sustainable solutions to environmental problems through the use of algorithms to track and mitigate ways that we humans are exploiting the Earth.  I believe that any problem can be solved through the use of technology, and computer science has been an outlet for me to use my creative thinking to come up with the most effective solutions to problems.  I have always loved business and entrepreneurship, and so by pursuing computer science in college I will have the skill set to innovate something that can be beneficial to the entire world.”

Scholar Spotlight: Fatima

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Congratulations to Fatima, our Class of 2019 awardee of a Dr. David A. Link Scholarship for the Health Professions, enrolled at Bunker Hill Community College, where she’ll be preparing for a career as a radiology technician: 

“I am interested in studying in the medical radiography program at Bunker Hill Community College because it fulfills both my educational and personal goals.  My plan after two years of college is to work as an intern at a hospital to complete my training as a radiology technician.  This will allow me to get a job in my home country, Guinea Bissau, which will help me achieve my personal goal of giving back to my hometown.  I want to help people who suffer from bone injuries because growing up I saw so many people in my home country who broke their bones and never went to the hospital to check what was wrong.”